The
US supplements industry is fighting back following the publication of a
new book deriding the supplements market for being dangerously
unregulated and accusing supplements manufacturers of marketing
products based on fraudulent claims.
In Natural Causes, New Jersey-based investigative journalist Dan Hurley blames the controversial Dietary Supplements and Health Education Act, which became law in 1994 and freed dietary supplements from Food and Drug Administration pre-market approval, for what he considers an unacceptable state of affairs.
Political manoeuvring rather than public safety drove the law's enactment, Hurley writes, citing many adverse events—including hundreds of deaths—he believes are a direct result of the climate DSHEA has fostered. Meanwhile, an estimated 150 million Americans use supplements; the US supplements market is estimated to be worth about $20 billion.
